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| Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta are the star owners
of the Calcutta and Mohali teams, respectively |
Calcutta: A system of “barter” will come into effect before the Indian Premier League’s second edition, next year, and the profit-making “trading” of players will be allowed in 2010.
This was confirmed by former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president and League governing council member Inderjit Singh Bindra.
“There will be a week’s window in February next year, before the start of edition No.2, and also the year after that… The barter will allow teams to rectify any imbalance in the composition of their line-ups as a result of Wednesday’s auction. For example, one highly priced player could be exchanged for one of equal value or even two whose value would add up to his…
“Before the third edition, of course, the eight franchise owners could trade players — but with their consent. If I remember correctly, the players’ consent will also be needed for the barter,” Bindra told The Telegraph on Saturday.
The players aren’t obliged to get a cent beyond the amount for which th ey were brought, at the auction, but the consent-clause allows for a mutually beneficial arrangement to be worked out.
According to Bindra, the League wouldn’t encourage either too much of barter or trading as otherwise “city loyalties” would get hit.
The BCCI-promoted League, which is city-based, begins on April 18 and the inaugural edition will run till June 1.
For now, the contracts with the players and coaches (among others) are for three years.
Meanwhile, another auction will have to be held if, for example, Jaipur (after under-spending significantly) decide to add international players.
The process will be initiated once the names have been forwarded to the League’s governing council.
As Jaipur still have enough in the kitty (around $1.5 million, with the cap being $5 million), adding to their roster is a possibility.
Clearly, given the extent to which Jaipur could go, outbidding the rest won’t be a problem.
Bindra, however, emphasised that no team could have more than eight players from overseas on its rolls.
At the auction in Mumbai, Jaipur only bought five videshis — Shane Warne and Justin Langer (both of whom have quit international cricket), Graeme Smith, Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal.
Of the quintet, Langer isn’t available for the League’s edition No.1.
Footnote: At first glance, most franchise owners exceeded the cap on expenditure, but they fell within range after the “75 per cent discount” on the Australians and “60 per cent discount” on the Pakistanis got calculated. That’s because neither the Australians nor the Pakistanis will be available for the entire first edition, which is crucial for the League.
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